Bolt everything up nice and tight (UCA with the gussets), tack the gussets into place, remove the UCA mounting bolt and UCAs, and weld away. You'll melt the bushings if you weld with the UCAs in place.

Might be worth it to pull the metal sleeves from inside the bushings and bolt just those in place while you're welding. It'll make sure things stay lined up and don't warp out of position from the heat.

Honestly, I'm torn at the moment. I got an early version and my truck's extra heavy in the rear so it's sagged quite a bit. Deaver hasn't had any luck identifying the leaf packs I have (I've had to replace 4 individual leafs over the years and each time it was a custom measurement jobbie) and I get some frame rubbing:

The components are incredibly stout but obviously I've had some issues. I'm weighing my options and will probably end up making a hybrid rear setup using my existing Giant front hanger, DMZ rear hanger and shackle, and All Pro baja leaf packs.

I'm not 100% set on what I'll do but this is the direction I'm leaning for now.

^ are you still gonna run inverted shackles? My rear shackles rub a lil bit on the frame during articulation but only when turning because the bushings are soft and have some play. I may get harder bushings but I hear they are loud.

I prefer the inverted shackle design but the rubbing is obviously a concern. DMZ's rear kit either uses a long hanger or a short shackle in the rear, as it appears that the shackle does not come even with the frame at any point. At least, what's what I could tell from pictures I've been able to find online.

What's your rear setup these days? Point me to pics if you can because I'm too lazy to browse your build thread.

Wow that's actually really nice. Got any pics of how that rear shackle attaches to the frame?

Depending on how that thing looks, Hassim might be getting a call from me in the next month.

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I'll get some pics of the shackle mounts when I get home. Hass has 12" and 13" shackles you can choose from, they are just under $300 IIRC when he listed them on last year's black Friday sale. I was pretty surprised, I watched him build my rear end in 2 days lol

Tough to manage that with the 1st gen trucks because the shocks are mounted inside the frame rails.

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yup. you can't mount the shocks right behind the cab because the stock gas tank is in the way. if you run a tundra axle you can mount the shocks outside the frame rails and right behind the cab keeping most of the bedspace, like this guy